Modelling Noninvasively Measured Cerebral Signals during a Hypoxemia Challenge: Steps towards Individualised Modelling

Noninvasive approaches to measuring cerebral circulation and metabolism are crucial to furthering our understanding of brain function. These approaches also have considerable potential for clinical use “at the bedside”. However, a highly nontrivial task and precondition if such methods are to be used routinely is the robust physiological interpretation of the data. In this paper, we explore the ability of a previously developed model of brain circulation and metabolism to explain and predict quantitatively the responses of physiological signals. The five signals all noninvasively-measured during hypoxemia in healthy volunteers include four signals measured using near-infrared spectroscopy along with middle cerebral artery blood flow measured using transcranial Doppler flowmetry. We show that optimising the model using partial data from an individual can increase its predictive power thus aiding the interpretation of NIRS signals in individuals. At the same time such optimisation can also help refine model parametrisation and provide confidence intervals on model parameters. Discrepancies between model and data which persist despite model optimisation are used to flag up important questions concerning the underlying physiology, and the reliability and physiological meaning of the signals

Ovine prenatal growth-restriction and sex influence fetal adipose tissue phenotype and impact postnatal lipid metabolism and adiposity in vivo from birth until adulthood

Funding: This work was funded by the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environmental Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) including the Strategic Partnership for Animal Science. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Comparative mitochondrial and chloroplast genomics of a genetically distinct form of Sargassum contributing to recent “Golden Tides” in the Western Atlantic

© The Author(s), 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ecology and Evolution 7 (2017): 516–525, doi:10.1002/ece3.2630.Over the past 5 years, massive accumulations of holopelagic species of the brown macroalga Sargassum in coastal areas of the Caribbean have created “golden tides” that threaten local biodiversity and trigger economic losses associated with beach deterioration and impact on fisheries and tourism. In 2015, the first report identifying the cause of these extreme events implicated a rare form of the holopelagic species Sargassum natans (form VIII). However, since the first mention of S. natans VIII in the 1930s, based solely on morphological characters, no molecular data have confirmed this identification. We generated full-length mitogenomes and partial chloroplast genomes of all representative holopelagic Sargassum species, S. fluitans III and S. natans I alongside the putatively rare S. natans VIII, to demonstrate small but consistent differences between S. natans I and VIII (7 bp differences out of the 34,727). Our comparative analyses also revealed that both S. natans I and S. natans VIII share a very close phylogenetic relationship with S. fluitans III (94- and 96-bp differences of 34,727). We designed novel primers that amplified regions of the cox2 and cox3 marker genes with consistent polymorphic sites that enabled differentiation between the two S. natans forms (I and VIII) from each other and both from S. fluitans III in over 150 Sargassum samples including those from the 2014 golden tide event. Despite remarkable gene synteny and sequence conservation, the three Sargassum forms differ in morphology, ecology, and distribution patterns, warranting more extensive interrogation of holopelagic Sargassum genomes as a whole.This work was supported by a US National Science Foundation (NSF) collaborative grant to LAA-Z (OCE-1155571) and ERZ (OCE-1155379), and an NSF TUES grant (DUE-1043468) to LAA-Z and ER

The biogeography of the Plastisphere : implications for policy

Author Posting. © Ecological Society of America, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of Ecological Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 13 (2015): 541–546, doi:10.1890/150017.Microplastics (particles less than 5 mm) numerically dominate marine debris and occur from coastal waters to mid-ocean gyres, where surface circulation concentrates them. Given the prevalence of plastic marine debris (PMD) and the rise in plastic production, the impacts of plastic on marine ecosystems will likely increase. Microscopic life (the “Plastisphere”) thrives on these tiny floating “islands” of debris and can be transported long distances. Using next-generation DNA sequencing, we characterized bacterial communities from water and plastic samples from the North Pacific and North Atlantic subtropical gyres to determine whether the composition of different Plastisphere communities reflects their biogeographic origins. We found that these communities differed between ocean basins – and to a lesser extent between polymer types – and displayed latitudinal gradients in species richness. Our research reveals some of the impacts of microplastics on marine biodiversity, demonstrates that the effects and fate of PMD may vary considerably in different parts of the global ocean, and suggests that PMD mitigation will require regional management efforts.This work was supported by a US National Science Foundation (NSF) collaborative grant to LAA-Z (OCE-1155571), ERZ (OCE-1155379), and TJM (OCE-1155671), and was partially funded by an NSF TUES grant (DUE-1043468) to LAA-Z and ERZ, and by the Richard Saltonstall Charitable Foundation to TJM. GP was funded through the OCE-1155379 grant and assisted with identification of plastic resins via ATR-FTIR

The genome sequence of Saccharomyces Eubayanus and the domestication of Lager-Brewing yeasts

The dramatic phenotypic changes that occur in organisms during domestication leave indelible imprints on their genomes. Although many domesticated plants and animals have been systematically compared with their wild genetic stocks, the molecular and genomic processes underlying fungal domestication have received less attention. Here, we present a nearly complete genome assembly for the recently described yeast species Saccharomyces eubayanus and compare it to the genomes of multiple domesticated alloploid hybrids of S. eubayanus × S. cerevisiae (S. pastorianus syn. S. carlsbergensis), which are used to brew lager-style beers. We find that the S. eubayanus subgenomes of lager-brewing yeasts have experienced increased rates of evolution since hybridization, and that certain genes involved in metabolism may have been particularly affected. Interestingly, the S. eubayanus subgenome underwent an especially strong shift in selection regimes, consistent with more extensive domestication of the S. cerevisiae parent prior to hybridization. In contrast to recent proposals that lager-brewing yeasts were domesticated following a single hybridization event, the radically different neutral site divergences between the subgenomes of the two major lager yeast lineages strongly favor at least two independent origins for the S. cerevisiae × S. eubayanus hybrids that brew lager beers. Our findings demonstrate how this industrially important hybrid has been domesticated along similar evolutionary trajectories on multiple occasions.Fil: Baker, Emily Clare. University Of Wisconsin; Estados UnidosFil: Wang, Bing. University Of Wisconsin; Estados UnidosFil: Bellora, Nicolás. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad de Bariloche. Departamento de Biologia. Laboratorio de Microbiologia Aplicada y Biotecnologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Peris, David. University Of Wisconsin; Estados UnidosFil: Hulfachor, Amanda Beth. University Of Wisconsin; Estados UnidosFil: Koshalek, Justin A.. University Of Wisconsin; Estados UnidosFil: Adams, Marie. University Of Wisconsin; Estados UnidosFil: Libkind Frati, Diego. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad de Bariloche. Departamento de Biologia. Laboratorio de Microbiologia Aplicada y Biotecnologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Hittinger, Chris Todd. University Of Wisconsin; Estados Unido

The effects of ship noise on marine mammals - a review

viii, 174 hlm, 23 c

A descriptive survey of cancer helplines in the United Kingdom: Who they are, the services offered, and the accessibility of those services

Abstract Background There are more than 1500 UK health helplines in operation, yet we have scant knowledge about the resources in place to support the seeking and delivering of cancer‐related telephone help and support. This research aimed to identify and describe cancer and cancerrelated helpline service provision: the number of helplines available, the variety of services provided, and the accessibility of those services. Method This study used online national questionnaire survey sent to 95 cancer and cancerrelated helplines in the United Kingdom. Results A total of 69 (73%) of 95 surveyed cancer and cancer‐related helplines completed the survey. Most helplines/organizations were registered charities, supported by donations; 73.5% of helplines had national coverage. Most helplines served all age‐groups, ethnic groups, and men and women. Only 13.4% had a number that was free from landlines and most mobile networks, and 56.6% could only be contacted during working hours. More than 50% of helplines reported no provisions for callers with additional needs, and 55% had no clinical staff available to callers. Ongoing support and training for helpline staff was available but variable. Conclusion Although cancer helplines in the United Kingdom offer reasonably broad coverage across the country, there are still potential barriers to accessibility. There are also opportunities to optimize the training of staff/volunteers across the sector. There are further prospects for helplines to enhance services and sustain appropriate and realistic quality standards

Beyond a deficit-based approach: Characterizing typologies of assets for cisgender and transgender female sex workers and their relationship with syndemic health outcomes

Female sex workers (FSWs) live and work at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities that place them at greater risk for various negative health outcomes. Resilience theory asserts that an individual or community needs assets from which they can draw in response to stressors, such as chronic discrimination and abuse. This study characterizes and compares patterns of assets among cisgender and transgender FSWs living with HIV in the Dominican Republic and their relations with syndemic health outcomes. With Latent Class Analysis, we used companion cross-sectional datasets comprised of cisgender and transgender FSWs (N = 211 and 100, respectively) to estimate typologies of interpersonal, community, and institutional assets. We used multivariate logistic regression to model the relationship between class membership and HIV care and treatment, mental health, violence exposure, and substance use outcomes, respectively. Among cisgender FSWs, we identified three classes: Internal and External Multilevel Assets (Class 1); External Institutional Assets (Class 2); and Low Reported Assets (Class 3). Compared to Class 3, Class 1 membership among cisgender FSWs was significantly associated with ART adherence and marginally associated with viral suppression, and Class 2 membership was marginally associated with currently taking ART. We identified two classes in the transgender sample: Internal and External Multilevel Assets (Class 1) and External Institutional Assets (Class 2). Class 1 membership among transgender FSWs was significantly associated with ART adherence and marginally associated with current ART use and physical or sexual violence, compared to Class 2. Having a variety of assets may explain the ability of some FSWs to more effectively engage with healthcare and maintain their HIV medication regimen. Future interventions should seek to expand FSWs’ interpersonal and community assets, both from within and outside of the sex worker community, to bolster their ability to care for themselves and their community